Bah, humbug! AG nixes DOJ holiday party

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court and other Washington bigwigs will have to find alternative ways to be festive this year after Attorney General Eric Holder called off the Justice Department’s annual holiday party for budgetary reasons.

The Justice Department affair usually drew hundreds of Washington officials, from agency heads to Supreme Court jurists, reports the Washington Post’s In the Loop. The fete featured top-shelf drinks and fancy food – “we’re not talking munchies here,” the Post’s Al Kamen observed – as well as a chance for Washington’s powerful to rub elbows.

But Holder is not the only one mindful of the current tough economic situation. The FBI has also canceled its holiday party, and the Defense Department and other agencies are opting for scaled-down holiday celebrations this year.